Logo: O Caderno de Aimé-Adrien Taunay - Histórias, descobertas e percursos
courtesy of: Logo: IHF - Instituto Hercules Florence
special thanks to: Logo: Museu Paulista
Logo: O Caderno de Aimé-Adrien Taunay - Histórias, descobertas e percursos

THE NOTEBOOK

Sociabilities

The network described by Aimé Adrien Taunay in his writings indicates a great variety of social types who were in contact with the traveler: diplomats, farmers, slaves, troopers, salesmen, foreigners, indigenous people, gypsies, blacks, Catholics, Protestants, among other groups who lived in the regions close to the capital of the Empire of Brazil. Equally diversified were the subjects of the conversations he held and listened to, ranging from jokes and daily events, to science, literature, philosophy and politics. Taunay shows interest in always being abreast of current events, whether local or exogenous, as can be seen in these words: “after having spent a fortnight without hearing neither about politics or business in the world, nor the Expedition from Europe, for the first time, I faced there the agitation and interest for that”. Also remarkable is the artist’s foreign gaze when observing common habits of local people and the analyses of the characters and facts he saw.

This image is a painting. Title: Habitants de L’intérieur des terres du Brésil (Inhabitants of Brazil’s Countryside), 1818. Artist: Aimé-Adrien Taunay. Medium and support: Watercolor on paper. The painting features four characters, three of whom are men and one woman. One of the male figures is sitting on a horse, while the other, on the left, seems to speak to him. An enslaved black male figure strokes the horse's head. The female figure, wearing a hat and dress, stands on the horse’s right side. The painting is framed by a thin line where the name “Brésil” can be seen in the upper central region of the frame, next to the year in the upper right corner. The title in under the frame in the lower central part. The author's signature can be found, inside the frame, in the lower left corner - opposing the illegible inscription in the lower right corner.
TAUNAY, Aimé-Adrien. Habitants de L’intérieur des terres du Brésil [Inhabitants of the interior of Brazil]. 1818. Watercolor 24.8 x 31.8. Photographer: Jaime Acioli. Castro Maya/IBRAM Museums.
courtesy of / special thanks to:
IHF Museu Paulista
partnership: